Were Rodri to leave Manchester City, he would hand Manchester United the transfer assist of the summer.
It is the worst-kept secret in football this summer: Manchester United are set to focus their transfer efforts on bolstering their engine room.
Casemiro’s departure, coupled with the need to upgrade on Manuel Ugarte, has given the twenty-time English champions a chance to refresh their midfield.
So far, so good. United have signed two technically gifted midfielders in Youri Tielemans and Andrey Santos. However, the rebuild is not yet complete; a third midfielder is still to arrive.
Enter Manchester City’s Rodri
Rodri could have been that third signing, but he is not the man the Red Devils are pursuing. Instead, should the Spaniard return to Spain as widely anticipated, he could inadvertently help United land a dream target.
Aurélien Tchouaméni hope
Until Thursday, the suggestion was that Rodri would join Real Madrid. That move would have raised question marks over Aurélien Tchouaméni‘s long-term future at the Bernabéu, with claims already circulating that the Spanish giants would have entertained offers for the Frenchman had a tempting bid arrived following their successful Etihad raid.
Indeed, if anyone was going to throw serious money at Los Blancos for the midfielder, it was United, who, crazy about Tchouaméni, would surely have been the club to test Madrid’s resolve.
Yet just as United fans were hoping things would align, the picture shifted. On Thursday, news broke that Rodri was no longer moving to Madrid; instead, the City midfielder now looks set for Catalonia, with a move to Barcelona being worked on.
The Spanish champions had opened talks with the one-time Ballon d’Or winner, and he had agreed to join them, reportedly ready to snub José Mourinho’s project for Hansi Flick’s.
🚨🔵🔴 BREAKING: Barcelona now in official club to club talks with Man City and very confident to get Rodri deal done.
Initial indications from Barça open to pay fee slightly over €45m, Man City in direct talks indicating higher price.
Rodri wants Barça. 🔜 pic.twitter.com/Ttrs8KbVZJ
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) August 7, 2026
While that shift dashes United’s hopes of landing Tchouaméni, it may still open the door to another top midfield target.
Enter Marc Bernal
Some time ago, while negotiating Marcus Rashford’s permanent transfer to Barcelona, INEOS are alleged to have asked the Catalans to include midfield prodigy Marc Bernal as part of the deal. Bernal turned the move down, preferring to take his chances at Barcelona.
As talented as he is, Bernal is emerging as one of those modern number sixes who excels at controlling tempo, distributing the ball with precision under pressure, and using his natural left-footed angles to link play instantly with the right wing. Still 19, he undoubtedly has everything needed to make it at Barcelona.
Indeed, it is precisely that potential that must have convinced United to pursue him as one of their midfield targets, only for him to turn them down.
That said, Bernal’s chances of a key role next season were high, but following Rodri’s potential arrival, they now look considerably lower. He may well become the biggest casualty of this transfer.
Frenkie de Jong, Rodri, Pedri and Gavi will surely rank above Bernal in the pecking order, and the young midfielder, if ambitious, should recognise that and weigh his options carefully.
United, therefore, need to stay alert. They should watch the Barcelona star’s situation closely and present themselves as the perfect landing spot, one where he could arrive and take on a key role as United’s number six, the midfield anchor of Michael Carrick‘s engine room.
Featured image Alex Caparros via Getty Images
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